A large number of devices have been available, some for as long as 60 years or more, to give a visual signal when a fish bites and pulls the outer end of a fishing rod into a bent position where it moves back and forth as the fish moves about in the water. Such devices are useful under conditions of low visibility, as for example during nighttime, or even at dusk or dawn.
Many of these movement indicators turn on a light only after there has been a bite, and in all these cases some type of apparatus having a relatively heavy weight is employed at or near the outer end of the fishing rod. Examples are the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. No. 1,752,397 to See (1930), No. 2,671,209 to Habib (1954), No. 3,571,536 to Sparks (1971), No. 3,882,629 to Kaye (1975), No. 4,479,321 to Welstead (1984) and No. 4,766,688 to Hiles (1988). In the latter patent, the device is mounted on the fishing pole about halfway to two-thirds of the way up the rod from the handle (col. 3, lines 39-40), and in all the other instances the device is mounted at, or very near, the outer end of the rod. These relatively heavy weights at or near the outer end of the fishing rod interfere with the handling of the rod when it is held by the user--either when a single rod is being used, or when the rod is one of several rods that are anchored in a group on the bank of a river or lake and is picked up after a bite is signaled.
Some other movement indicating devices have utilized lamps that are on continuously, so that it is the movement of the light rather than the initial turning on of the light that signals a bite. Even in such case, the only prior art devices that are known to applicant require a relatively heavy weight to be carried by the outer end of the rod. (See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,730,887 to Van Leeuwen (1973) and No. 4,376,349 to Yarkzower (1983).) This, again, interferes with the handling of the rod by the user.
The present invention utilizes a light-emitting diode located at the inner end of the rod as the source of the light that will signal movement of the outer end of the fishing rod, which eliminates altogether the need for any significant weight to be carried at the outer end of the rod. This arrangement is made possible by the use of optical fiber for transmitting the light from the light-emitting diode to the outer end of the fishing rod.
As indicated above, motion indicators for use with fishing rods have been available since 1930 or before. Light-emitting diodes have been available for many different applications for several decades. The transmission of visible light through strands of optical fiber has been known since at least the 1950's. Yet in this field of active development of various types of movement indicators for use on fishing rods, no one prior to applicant has recognized the very significant benefit of virtually eliminating any extra weight at the outer end of the fishing rod.
All the prior art devices referred to above, besides requiring undesirable weights at or near the tip of the fishing rod, require a relatively complicated arrangement of parts. In addition, because of the use of a light bulb with a filament, these prior art devices are relatively likely to suffer damage from breakage if the rod is dropped.